Currently, the front doors of most modern day vehicles must be removed from the vehicle before refinishing. This is done to gain access to remove the inner door weatherstrip-gasket that is located on the door shell of most new vehicles. This weatherstrip-gasket is located between the front door edge and the rear edge of the fender. If the front doors are not disassembled to remove the weatherstrip-gasket when refinishing the front doors, the weatherstrip-gaskets may be covered in overspray. Overspray is caused by a mist that is created when refinishing a surface on the vehicle. Tiny particles of paint are light enough to float around in the air, when they land, they slowly start to harden and become overspray. Overspray on a molding or weatherstrip may be a sign of a poor repair and may indicate that the vehicle was not brought back to its pre-accident condition or manufacturer's specifications.
When the front doors are removed, time must be spent to remove the wire-harness which is located inside the door jamb. When disconnecting the wire-harness, sometimes the plugs are easily accessible in the door jamb. Other times the disconnect point can be about a foot into the vehicle and the disconnect point will have to be taken out of the door by removing the door panel. Then the wires will be unfastened from the shell and then passed out of the door for disconnection.
In addition, time is spent to reinstall the front door of the vehicle before refinishing to ensure that the color-blend match is correct. After that the front door must be removed a second time after the refinishing process to reinstall the weatherstrip-gasket. Also, sometimes the weatherstrip-gasket can get damaged when removed or the retainer clips can get damaged causing an extra cost of replacing the retainer clips if they are available. Sometimes the retainer clips cannot be purchased separately; therefore, a new molding or weatherstrip may need to be purchased.
Following that, additional time is spent to reinstall the front door and wire harness once more, after reinstalling the weather-strip gasket on the freshly refinished front door. Care must be taken not to damage the newly refinished front door and front fender when the refinished front door and front fender is taken on and off the vehicle for this repair process.